Some Superb Stapleton Hospitality

It is Monday morning.  Never a good thing.  I didn't sleep very well past 1 am.  I got up feeling pretty grim.  I haven't showered since Fernie and I haven't had any water since saturday.  I drove down to Starbucks and parked outside.  It was still early and I had about 45 mins before I had to pay for parking.  I went inside and asked Corina to fill up my water bottle and used the interweb for a bit.  I had emailed Abbeys mum to check it was ok for me to pop in rather than just show up but having just come back from the boat I'm guessing she hadn't had time to reply yet.  I thought I would start making my way there any way.  It was a 20 min drive and I wasn't entirely sure it was going to go well.  So having guzzled some water and I had the directions saved on my pad I set off.  The first bit was easy and was going well.  It's such a good feeling isn't it when you get directions right.  You feel kind of proud of yourself.  Then the grim thing about directions is as soon as you go just one turn wrong, suddenly no signs have been put any where.  The ones that have are written in hieroglyphics and there is always some bastard behind you in a fucking hurry!  So I got lost as I'm sure you can gather and where better to get lost than onto a toll bridge.  Fantastic!  I had no choice but to continue as is the case with all toll bridges once they have told you about it you can't escape it.  So I carried on with no idea where I was going and did a good bit of steering wheel smacking.  Not in the happy  drumming along to the beat way like the other day.  I pulled over and decided to try find some internet to get some more directions. 

So I got some internet and got a bit of well needed cheering up from the mother and the mrs and got going with some much more clear and simple directions under my belt (on my ipad).  I got lost again never the less and got very angry very quickly.  But I corrected my error with ease and made it slowly in the right direction.  I found the way and as I got closer the neighbour hood was getting nicer and nicer until I suddenly felt I was in the nicest area on the planet!  Everything looked so perfect.  Gorgeous house followed by gorgeous house.  The grass on every garden was green and bushy.  Not a strand out of place mind.  It was lovely.  I found Abbeys house easily but made sure to park a bit down the way because the van was rather unsightly to put it nicely.  It did not belong in this neighbour hood.  But it will have to do.  I went over to knock on the door feeling much better about the day.  The sun was shinning now and I was excited to meet Abbeys family.  Unfortunately no one answered the door but I wasn't bothered everything was too nice around me to get upset.  I went for a walk down the road to see if I could get my bearings and maybe email Abbey to see if everyone was at work or whatever.  I found a Starbucks (Shock!) they are everywhere and spoke to Abbey and then I realised I had an email from her mum.  Bless her it was so sweet.  Inviting me for a meal and a bed for the night.  I was rather inclined to the idea of a shower so I said I would pop over later. 

So I had a little nap in the van and then about 7.30ish I headed over.  I rung the bell and a second later the door opened wide.  Alex, Abbeys brother was in her parents had not yet returned from the boat holiday.  He warmly welcomed me in and offered me a drink and more importantly a shower.  I took him up on both and 15 minutes later came down stairs feeling a much fresher man.  We then sit and chilled watching telly.  A comfort I had long forgotten!  Alex had also been a ski instructor so we had quite a bit to talk about.  He also shared a passion for good cinema so we went short on things to chat about.  After a while Abbeys parents came through the door and even after arriving back after a holiday and a long journey the were so friendly and so welcoming.  This first thing Jane did was give me a big hug and told me that Abbey had instructed her to do so!  It was nice.  You gotta love a good hug from a mum!  Nothing like it.  Then we went in to the kitchen and chatted for ages about all sorts of things.  Steve, Abbeys dad offered me a beer and then we all talked for a while about the route I was taking down the south and lots of other stuff.  It was such a nice evening and I loved learning about Abbey's family.  They were just all so nice.  I found myself always with a beaming smile on my face.

 

I think for whatever reason all of us were rather sleepy and after them not taking no for an answer I headed off to Abbeys comfy bed.  They were kind enough to give me abbeys room for the night.  I walked in and straight away you could just tell it was Abbeys room.  Everything was just so.  It was nice.  Very comforting.  Then I saw abbey was online and then 2 minutes later Alex knocked on the door with the phone in his hand.  It was of course Abbey.  We had a good chat it was really funny.  Nice to hear her voice, it was a shame she wasn't here.  After a little chat I put my head down and quickly fell into a much needed deep sleep!

Kilometers Traveled Today: 33
Kilometers Traveled Total: 1285
Funds: $41 U.S
Petrol: Nearly Empty